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“The Engine That Still Can”

The volunteers who move the Nickel Plate Road No. 765 steam engine conduct a 400-ton symphony on rails. On Saturday morning, it was that whistle that alerted Kyle Timmerman, 21, of Pacific, that the 765 was approaching the Missouri River. He heard it before he saw the plume of white smoke on the horizon.

Railroad enthusiasts lining the tracks included lots of elementary school-age boys and girls and even more older fellows who recalled the days when a steam train, especially through this area, was a way of life.

â€œThis is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You may not ever see it again,â€ said Bob Freidhoff, a Vinco native now living in Pittsburgh.

â€œItâ€™s in first-class shape,â€ said Bruce Manwiller, 65, of Beaver Falls, a member of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, who chased the engine last week from Ohio to Altoona. â€œItâ€™s always put on a good show. Itâ€™s always been a dependable machine.â€

Residents from all over had been peppering the newsroom with calls about when to expect the engine, which was “deadheading” to Pittsburgh after weekend excursions in Harrisburg. The interest was intense.

Locals and out-of-towners from gathering along the tracks, many with cameras and video tripods, to watch and hear the steam engine and wave at its passengers as it proceeded on its journey.

For some, Saturday’s viewing was a chance encounter. Erin Steinhurst of Toledo happened to see the train while running errands in Maumee, and went to the Miami Street bridge to show her father the train because she “had never seen anything like it before.”

Trig Simon of Toledo saw Saturday’s crowd gathered on the bridge’s sidewalk and stopped after deciding there must be something worth seeing.

“It’s about the nostalgia and the history behind Toledo and its railroad heyday, and remembering what Toledo used to be as a railroad town,” Mr. Rude said.

Mr. Gorshoff said he thought the steam engine’s trip through Toledo would energize the city.

“I couldn’t believe it at first,” he said of hearing that the train would pass through Toledo. “I think it’s really going to give Toledo a shot in the arm — I think Toledo needs a lot of this.”